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Boston city councilors back next month's student protest against guns

The Boston City Council today voted unanimously to support planned student protests over gun violence on March 24 in Boston and across the country.

And councilors wanted to make it clear they support both students protesting because of the threat of mass slaughter at the hands of people wielding high-powered weaponry and students who have to worry about getting shot just on the way home from school.

"We may not have had, thank God, a school shooting, but we do have violence on our streets," Councilor Lydia Edwards (East Boston, Charlestown, North End), who sponsored the resolution said.

"There is no hierarchy of hurt here," agreed Councilor Ayanna Pressley (at large), who said there are "forces at work" to try to divide white and black kids on the issue.

Councilor Kim Janey (Roxbury) said she will be at a href="https://www.facebook.com/events/1607397545975790/">the rally on Boston Common, and asked other councilors to physically join here to help "acknowledge their pain" - and to let the teens lead the way to a gun-safer future. Edwards, who said she was particularly proud of teenagers for leading the protests, added she would attend as well.

Added Councilor Matt O'Malley (Jamaica Plain, West Roxbury): "The young people of Parkland, Florida have given me incredible hope," because of the way they have risen from the tragedy of having 17 classmates gunned down.

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I'm sure the kids were waiting with baited breath for the City Council's endorsement, because this planned walkout has absolutely nothing to do with what they perceive as government inaction on gun regulation.

Some of the black community feels that this school shooting sort of gun violence gets wall to wall coverage and sympathy while black on black gun violence, police shootings and such get buried or used as a punchline.

I think the city councilor is trying to make the point that people off all races can and should care about both sorts.

I was out of town for a little while and came to UHub to catch up on local Boston news, and I was slightly disappointed to see nothing about that cop that racially profiled the black guy in Roxbury. Or did I miss the article somewhere?

Still doesn't mean the police have the right to "harass" him, but once you lie to the police and you have a known criminal history and then lie about your name, it gives the police more reasonable suspicion to stop you (leading to frisks, search, etc). Police rudeness and City policy is one thing, but the 4th Amendment and case law surrounding stop and frisk issues starts to tilt towards the police side once you lie about your name. Would have been better if he didn't answer or keep walking or say "I don't have to give you my name". Or even if he said his name was Kevin, that would have been enough.

Boston City Council President A. Campbell refuses to make available the Stenographic Record of Public Meetings of the City Council, budgeted with public funds, the document more accurate than captions for hard of hearing folks, for ESL English Second Language folks, for all folks.

Bid Advertisements for Stenographic Services shall be distributed more widely?... for more competitive Bidding and for more up to date technology/software than routinely grandfathering in current Steno Services donating to Councilors' Election Campaigns.